Details

Features

This is old goldmining and cropping country, with a signifcant feature being the Waranga Basin.

8 kilometres from Murchison to Channel Inlet Road opened in March 2015.

2 kilometres at Rushworth open.

Description

Murchison to Channel Inlet Rd (8 kilometres)

Gravel surface

Straight and flat but surrounded by bushland including the unique ecosystem of Doctor's Swamp wetlands with easy access to the Parks Victoria picnic area on the western boundary of the swamp.

Includes the refurbished historically significant bridge over the Stuart Murray Canal

Gives easy access to Waranga Basin along Channel Inlet Road.

Murchison is a small regional town with a bakery and general store situated on a picturesque section of the Goulburn River.

Rushworth (2km)

At Rushworth landscaping has been done and an ashphalt trail laid from the main street to the end of the yard.

It is a great reminder of how a Victorian country branchline station looked, now that nearly all of them have disappeared. At either end of the sealed trail the surface is gravel to the town's limits.

Rushworth is an historic regional town with several options for food and drink.

Girgarre (2km)

The local communty have developed a gravel surface trail south to Masons Rd with lots of revegetation taking place.

Background Information

A line from Murchison East on the Shepparton railway was constructed to the gold minig town of Rushworth in 1890 and extended to Colbinabbin in 1914. Rushworth became a junction when a line was constructed to Girgarre in 1917. A diversion of the line was necessary when the Waranga Basin was constructed. The lines were all closed by 1987.

At Rushworth the community purchased the land and infrastructure around the station to retain it for posterity.

The Greater Shepparton City Council opened the Murchison to Channel Inlet Rd section in 2015.

Future Developments

The Shire of Campaspe has obtained a lease from Victrack to develop the rest of the corridor from the Waranga Basin to Rushworth. They are considering this in conjuction with a link to the O'Keefe Rail Trail at Heathcote.

Extending the trail on to the Melbourne Shepparton railway line at Murchison East would allow better access from public transport. However making the large bridge across the Goulburn River safe to cross will be a significant undertaking.

The Girgarre community are planning to extend their section to Stanhope in 2016 and have longer term plans to extend it all the way back to Rushworth.

Links

The trail is managed by the Greater Shepparton City Council and Shire of Campaspe. Refer to their websites below to report issues.

Comments

Comments

3 comments

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21 September , 2018 by Digger

Nice crushed blue metal track, flat from Murchison heading towards Rushworth. Easily tackled with a hybrid bike.
I did the short 2km ride from Girgarre. Had an encounter with 2 large Irish Wolfhounds right at the end of the trail. They were friendly enough at first, but having that chase drive, they were a handfull, able to keep up with me going flat out with their noses right at my thighs... They chased me coming and going unfortunately.

28 April , 2015 by Wenkle

We rode this new Rail Trail on 29/3/15; it was easy to ride with hybrid bikes. We rode to the current end (Channel Inlet Road) and back, had lunch at the Murchison Bakery - and a stroll around the nearby landscaped, river bank area. We are looking forward to being able to ride all the way to Rushworth on this trail and think it will be a fantastic experience to ride into what is a well preserved old country railway precinct. (Congratulations to the Rushworth community for preserving this area for posterity.)

15 December , 2014 by cascho

I rode this trail on Saturday 13th December 2014 (along with the Dookie trail). First off – the section between Murchison and Waranga Bushland reserve is open – and much more interesting than the small section in Rushworth. The trail from Murchison is flat and good bridges across the canals. Once you come to the end of the trail at Waranga Bushland – the rail reserve continues on – and it is evident that others have continue to ride along the reserve, though Victrak have signs everywhere stating it is prohibited to ride on the rail easement. I saw no one the entire ride – so if you want to get away from the crowds, then this ride is for you.

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